Are You Ready for a New Pet? 10 Questions to Ask Yourself

Announcer: 0:02

Welcome to the Starlight Pet Talk podcast, where we'll talk about and explore ways to help pet parents and future pet parents learn everything they need to know to have a happy and healthy relationship with their pets. So sit up and stay for Starlight Pet Talk rescue, adoption, and pet parenting done right.

Amy Castro, Host: 0:25

Hello and welcome to Starlight Pet Talk. I'm your host, Amy Castro, and today I am flying solo because I wanted to do a quick episode on something that is kind of near and dear to my heart, which is whether you should get a new pet or not. As the president of an animal rescue, obviously, we rely on people adopting pets otherwise we wouldn't be able to keep rescuing more pets, so obviously we love people to come to us for adoption. At the same time, I think people need to do some soul searching and some real putting pen to paper and putting some numbers down before they go looking for a pet, to really decide whether they need a pet at all. 

So what I want to cover are 10 questions to ask yourself before you get a pet, and these are not necessarily in any particular order, but just points to ponder before you start knocking on the door of rescues and making appointments to visit pets. 

So question number one is why do you want a pet? 

What are you looking for? Are you trying to get a companion for an existing pet? Are you looking for something that's going to be really cuddly and spend all its time on your lap? Are you looking for something that's going to be a running buddy because you're an avid runner? Those are all questions that you really need to ask yourself because you want to basically target your search for a pet based on what you want that pet for in your life. So why is it that you're looking for that? I also think that one of the questions related to the idea of why you want a pet is to really ask, especially if it's an emotional reason maybe you're going through a tough time in your life and you feel like a pet is going to fill that void is to realize that, a it may not and B what happens when your life changes and that void is no longer there? So what's going to happen is that pet's still going to be something that you will be able to care for. So something to consider. 

Question number two if you've already got pets, how do you think your pets are going to adapt to having a new pet? 

I had a lady call me yesterday and she was looking for a new kitten and she had an existing three-year-old cat and she kept saying on several occasions throughout our conversation that oh, my friends keep telling me I need a new kitten, for I won't name her cat, but for her cat and it didn't really sound like she really necessarily needed or wanted a new pet and it also didn't sound like her pet was lacking in any way for companionship or attention. So really think about whether your pets are gonna adapt to having a new pet and what kind of pet might be a good fit for your household from that perspective, from the animal relationships and there are a lot of great reasons to get a second pet If your existing pet is lonely or if you're looking for something that you know that your existing pet can play with and really burn off some steam with while you're gone at work, then yeah, that might be a great idea. But always make sure you do a meet and greet with any new pet to make sure it's a fit before you take it home. If you can do that, cats it's a little bit trickier, but make sure you can do things on a trial basis if you're gonna get a new cat, to make sure that they get along. 

On that same note, tiny sidebar is that a trial basis doesn't mean 24 hours. I had a lady that was trying to re-home a cat the other day. She didn't even adopt it from us, she adopted it from another organization who happened to be closed the next day and she was already looking to re-home the cat the next day because her existing cat and the new cat were not getting along. You got to give it more time, people, you can't just give it 24 hours. But if after two weeks, let's say it's obvious that things aren't going well, despite your proper introductions which that's a whole other podcast episode in and of itself then you might say, okay, this isn't gonna work out for the future and you want to basically have that opportunity to return that pet so that it can find another, more appropriate home for them. 

Question number three is is now the right time in your life for a pet? 

And I know we can't always predict what's going on. You know, if anything is told us over the last couple of years, that life is unpredictable. We've figured that out by now. But at the same time, it's definitely not a bad idea to ask yourself where you see yourself in the next two years, five years, ten years, for example. We get a lot of college students who come to us and are interested in adopting. For some, you know, it works out really, really well. We've also had college students that have adopted a pet in February, graduated in May, moved back home with parents and in June they're wanting to return the pet that they adopted in February. So really look at where you're going to be in the next couple of years and whether a pet is a good fit for that. It could be. You know, looking at the other end of the spectrum of life, maybe you're getting ready to retire and you plan on traveling, and so maybe now is not the best time to get a new puppy that needs lots of attention, or to get an animal at all that now is going to be boarded on a regular basis, or you're gonna have to hire a pet sitter to come in and care for them. So definitely think about your phase in life and where you're going to be over the next couple of years. 

Question number four is a big question Can you actually afford a pet? 

I think too many times people have that emotional desire for a pet but they haven't really thought through how much any particular pet might cost them. You know, if you're going to get a gold fish, obviously the expense is going to be significantly less than if you're going to get a pure bread dog that requires regular grooming from a professional groomer, and then there's obviously everything in between. So make sure you're taking into consideration, when you're getting a pet, not just the cost of acquiring the pet, like adoption fees, which can be pretty significant, but your pet food, your supplies. Grooming, if you're gonna have to go to a groomer on a regular basis. Veterinary care, which is so important. Boarding or pet sitters, if you're somebody that travels a lot, either personally or for work. And then obviously you want to throw in a buffer for emergency situations, because they do happen. Pets get into mischief. It's always on a Friday afternoon or a Saturday when the vet is closed, and now you find yourself at an emergency vet where you can't walk through the door for less than $800. So really look at your budget and see if you can provide the proper care for a pet or maybe adjust your expectations about the kind of pet that you're going to get at this point in time based on what you can afford to properly care for. 

Question number five is do you have space for the pet you want? 

It's a simple question, but you know, not everybody has the space in their home or the ability to maneuver comfortably with a really large dog. We just discovered that recently and my house is not incredibly small, but we had a great Pyrenees that we were fostering and it was a nightmare from that perspective. The dog was lovely, the dog was well behaved, but it was just so darn big that it was constantly bumping into things. You're trying to maneuver around the dog, knocking things off the table with its tail, things like that. So space can definitely be an issue from that perspective. 

Space also ties to question number six, which is do you have the time to give the pet attention and exercise? 

So often times when I hear this and we'll focus on space for just a second but you know, exercise does come into play when it comes to the actual space that you have. I have people say to me all the time that they can't get a big dog because they don't have the yard for a big dog. Well, that may be true if your expectation is your dog is going to get his or her exercise by running in your yard. But most big dogs need more than just a jaunt in the backyard while they run out to go potty, to really burn off the appropriate steam and really get true exercise. 

So space may not be a huge factor. If you are an active person, you plan on taking your dog for runs or bike rides, things like that. But you know at minimum you do want to consider those space issues and whether you can live comfortably with a pet in the space that you're in at this time. So, finishing up question number six about the you know, do you have time to give the pet appropriate attention? You know that's something that you want to consider when it comes to your work schedule, what you do on the weekends, if you're out a lot, things like that. A cat may not have the same level or need for attention as a puppy. If you're working 12-hour days, you probably don't need to get a puppy unless you plan on having somebody come in two or three times while you're gone at work to care for that animal, because a puppy cannot be left for 12 hours straight with puppy pads. I don't care what the setup you might have is that a puppy needs more attention than that. 12 hours is just way too long to be leaving a puppy home alone and it's probably too long to leave an adult dog home without having somebody come in to let the dog out. 

So maybe a cat that uses a litter box might be a better fit for your lifestyle from that perspective and your time? 

And I use the word lifestyle because that ties to question number seven Does your lifestyle match the type of pet that you are looking at? 

I know that we made in our family a pretty big mistake from a lifestyle perspective when we got our Doberman Pinscher, jack. We had him for 13 years. All worked out well in the grand scheme of things, but Jack was an active dog who needed more exercise and stimulation than we were prepared to give him with our pretty much sedentary lifestyle. And so what ends up happening in those situations is you're constantly telling the dog go lay down, go do something, stop bothering me, buh-buh-buh-buh-buh, because the dog needs to get out for a run, needs more exercise, needs more, you know, playing ball, whatever it might be. And if you're more of a couch potato that likes to sit and watch television, a Doberman Pinscher is probably not the right fit for you, neither is a Border Collie or other very active breeds of dogs. So definitely do your homework on what activity needs, stimulation, needs, all of the above that a pet might need, before you decide. Oh, i just want to get that because I really like the way they look, or that's cute, or I was, you know, swayed by that video of a puppy playing, whatever it might be. Really, look at your lifestyle and what you're willing to commit to doing to make that pet's life a happy life. 

Question number eight is how are you going to deal with it when behavior issues come up? 

And we've done several episodes on dogs and dog training on this podcast so far. But you know, the bottom line is, whether it's a dog, whether it's a cat or another another pet, there are almost always going to be things that are going to come up that the behavior doesn't match what your expectations are or what you want from that pet. And so what are you prepared to do to deal with those? and dumping them on a rescue or a shelter when they start cropping up and you don't feel like dealing with it is not the answer. So you know, can you afford to get training? Are you willing to commit to going to training classes or having a trainer come in or working on training with your pet to correct that behavior or maybe better align it to the way that you live? So if you're not willing to do that, then it's probably not a good idea to get a pet, because very few pets are going to walk in your door and be perfectly behaved in the way that you want them to be from the get go. When you see those greatly trained dogs out in the community or out and about which is pretty rare because usually they're maniacs pulling on leashes and jumping on people and things like that because people didn't put in the time to train So you need to think about whether you're committed to that animal to put in that level of effort to deal with behavior issues or just to provide proper training. And we're down to our last couple of questions here. 

So question number nine is do you have children or do you plan on having children? 

I can't tell you how many people we get calls from over the course of a week. Let's say that either they're pregnant and they're already worried and looking for a way to get rid of the dog because they're worried about how it's going to be with their new baby or whether they're going to have time for it, etc. Etc. And we have addressed this issue in the podcast before. But if you are somebody who's in a position where you're planning on having children maybe you don't even have kids yet, but you're planning on having children in the next let's say, two years, three years, getting a puppy is something that is you're going to really have to think about whether you're going to be able to juggle those two things because by the time that puppy hits that two and three year point or let's especially the two year point, that's oftentimes where you start running into more of the issues with puppies. You know that puppy was easy to manage when it was little. Now it's 80 pounds and we haven't really done what we needed to do with training. And now we're going to have a baby and I can't manage the dog jumping on me while I'm pregnant or while I'm trying to take care of a baby or whatever the situation might be. 

So definitely something to consider whether you can juggle those two things. And then if you already have kids, then obviously you want the children to be part of that process in selecting pets. Realize that that puppy is going to grow into. If, assuming you get a large breed puppy, that it is going to grow into a large dog who's going to be knocking your kids all over hither and yon If you don't focus on behavior and training from the get go, while they're little, don't wait until it's big and jumping on you. You want to work on things like jumping when the puppy is little and obviously you want to pick something that is going to be Kid friendly. 

And another aspect of dealing with kids and pets to and I will get on my soapbox on this for just a second is Dogs, cats, whatever the animal is, should not have to tolerate abuse from children. Okay, i can't tell you how many people especially when I used to work and volunteer at the animal shelter that would come in and say I am looking for a dog that can put up with my Kid pulling on its ears, jumping on it, whatever, no, and shouldn't have to do that. You see all these videos on the Internet of kids sitting on dogs, climbing on dogs, and I don't know if you see what I see, but what I see in many of those videos is a dog getting ready to bite that kid. It's going to happen eventually, because dogs should not have to be climbed on, sat on, had things stuck in their ears, have their ears pulled, etc. Etc. Yes, there are animals that will put up with that, but they shouldn't have to. So you really want to think about whether your children are old enough to be taught to respect the animal, or if you, if you have the ability to keep them separated until they are old enough, because, again, animals should not have to be abused by kids of any age. 

And then, last but not least, question number 10 is who is really going to be caring for the pet? 

And even from the standpoint of not only caring for the pet on a day-to-day basis, because many times people will get a pet because they want to teach their children responsibility. But guess what, two weeks down the road, the novelty of the dog cat has worn off, kids don't care about it anymore, and now somebody else, usually mom or dad, is gonna end up having to care for that pet. And so are you getting a pet for your kid or are you getting a pet for yourself? Because if you don't want one for yourself, you probably shouldn't get one, unless you're really gonna enforce the kid care aspect Also along those same lines. As far as caring for the pet, we get a lot of people that will come through who are getting a pet with somebody else, a roommate, a significant other, whatever it might be. I think it's important to discuss, especially if you are not, like, legally bound to that other person. And even then there are issues that have come up when people get divorced and who gets custody of the pet Something to think about. But certainly if you're simply a roommate or maybe you're just dating somebody and you're gonna get a pet, whose pet is it? Who is the legal owner of that pet? Who is really fiscally responsible for that pet? Who is gonna have physical custody of the pet should you go your separate ways? Definitely conversations to have, even though they might not be comfortable, because what ends up happening? in many instances? the animal gets caught in the middle, literally, and sometimes ends up in a shelter or in a rescue because people couldn't work out the custody issues for the pet. 

So those are my top 10 questions you should ask before getting a pet. I hope those are helpful, giving you some food for thought. Maybe now is the right time for you to get a pet, maybe it's not, but definitely think about these questions and please share them with other people. Have people listen to this episode if they're thinking about getting a pet, so that they can make a good, informed decision. And, like we like to say every week on Starlight Pet Talk, if you've got a pet and you don't do anything else this week, make sure you give that pet a hug from us.

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